Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

A small number of people have been identified and appropriate action has been taken. Does the Minister accept there has been a systems failure? It is one thing to ask RTE to provide the information but the information provided to it was probably on the basis that individuals would not be identified because they were saying it was not just due to individuals but that there was a systems failure.

The Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform, Deputy Howlin, spoke in the House last night about the need to have protection for people who provide information. He outlined how he had found himself before the courts on the matter when information was provided to him in good faith. That information was provided to RTE in good faith. It was a very important act of public service on behalf of the people who provided it. Is it not unfair to then expose those people in a way that they did not anticipate through the provision of the information at a later stage? It is a systems failure, rather than a small number of rogue operators.

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